Curator's introduction | Lorenzo Lotto Portraits | National Gallery

Join Matthias Wivel, our curator of 16th-century Italian paintings and curator of Lorenzo Lotto Portraits, to find out more about the exhibition.

Lorenzo Lotto Portraits
5 November 2018 – 10 February 2019
Admission free, Ground Floor Galleries

Celebrated as one of the greatest portraitists of the Italian Renaissance, Lorenzo Lotto uniquely portrayed a cross section of middle-class sitters, among them clerics, merchants, and humanists.

Lotto depicted men, women, and children in compositions rich in symbolism and imbued with great psychological depth. The prominent addition of objects which hinted at the social status, interests, and aspirations of his subjects added meaning to each work.

With the inclusion of documents that have survived from Lotto’s own account books, this exhibition – the first of its kind in the UK – provides extraordinary insight into the artist’s individualistic style and the people he portrayed.

Exhibition organised by the National Gallery and the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.

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The National Gallery houses the national collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the 13th to the 19th centuries. The museum is free of charge and open 361 days per year, daily between 10.00 am - 6.00 pm and on Fridays between 10.00 am - 9.00 pm.

Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DN

[moseb]

I've watched a number of Matthias' videos on this channel and I'm always blown away by his knowledge and beautiful presentation style. I hope you release more of them- he is wonderful to watch!

[rajinidevarajan]

Matthias’s coverage was so total . He took us on a virtual trip travelling like Lotto and presented the painters insights at various stages of life so beautifully.

[nicksharples]

I enjoyed this presentation a lot. Unlike Yoda, I appreciate that an expert, extemporising without notes over an hour, can sometimes give a richer impression of a subject than a more structured presentation. Although there's a place for both, of course. Thank you National Gallery for posting this free video lecture! I look forward to visiting the exhibition.

[maomaoj]

Thank you very much NG to organise such a great exhibition and offer this great introduction. I enjoy this lecture enormously and am most grateful!

[pfscpublic]

Enjoyable and informative talk about Lotto, probably the first with drone footage scattered throughout.

[m.i.miller]

excellent talk on this Artist. Matthias does an excellent job.. held my attention the entire video.

[fainatselnik]

Brilliant lecture - soft, loving and inquisitive. Amazing presenter - you feel personal connection with this rather remarkable artist. Lotto for me was always a great master, but only in the lecture he became a human being.

[gracgrac]

This is an immensely interesting presentation and a great reminder to me as to why I fell in love with art history in the first place. The two books which I have to use for my upcoming Italian Renaissance exam do not cover Lorenzo Lotto in such a positive light at all. He is regarded as a great portraitist but without watching this video, I'd never find out his art had a wicked side to it. It's a pity such a talented man was met with a sad end but it's nice to see he retained his sense of humor till the end (the table with human legs caught me off guard).

[ololadereis]

Please place more videos of mr witted he is an outstanding art historian curator

[cecilefox]

I love Matthias's analysis of the paintings! Thank you for this fascinating talk.

Fantastic artist and life. Never heard of him before, but now a massive fan!

[skyjuke]

Lorenzo Lotto 's life and art give me the idea that he was 'one of us'. A little bit weird, odd, but full of symbolic meanings. His death in a sacred place like Loreto (inside the great Church there is the Madonna house) is also moving.

[freetofly]

Like his own point of view in the marry couple, thanks!

[aatt]

I wish when I was studying portraiture I had listened onto this fantastic lecture. Perspicacity of the sitter's character & life experience is so important, to say the least, to be captured by the portraitist, than in a mere 2-D presentation of a person's face & body.

[ЕленаБем-цй]

Спасибо огромное. Классическая лекция искусствоведа нонче редкость. Великолепно, идеально.

[lesliefigueras]

thanks for this very extensive knowledgeable talk on different painters very interesting, the only thing is that many words will have to be looked up in a thesaurus dictionary

[merryhunt]

Gentlemen, the sitter in 'Portrait of a Woman Inspired by Lucretia' is holding up a drawing of Lucretia and saying "Do you believe this? This is nuts." The sitter's slanted gaze, shrugging shoulders and tilted head say it all.

[saracologni]

Amazing Lecture on Lorenzo Lotto, so informative and interesting, I loved it. Just one thing that probably I've lost in the translation: Antonello da Messina was an Italian painter from the city of Messina in Sicily and not a Chilean painter. Maybe I've not understood perfectly, in this case sorry!

[adrianamayer]

Very expensive, but good, thank you.

[ledhicks]

He always give very insightful analyses to his talks, but man the stutter.